In the field of archery, it is conventional practice to mount a peep sight on a bowstring of an archery bow. A peep sight is an optical sighting device having a sight opening that an archer aligns with the front sight of the bow to focus on a desired object or target.
In a typical archery peep sight arrangement, the peep sight is secured at a desired location along the bowstring by serving or string (which, for best results, is tied to the bowstring by an archery equipment professional). A rubber or silicone elastomeric tube may connect the peep sight to the bow cable of an archery bow. Upon full draw, tension in the elastomeric tube between the peep sight and the bow cable maintains the peep sight opening in alignment with the front bow sight.
Examples of serving-mounted peep sights are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,410,644; 5,542,186 and 6,131,295. A disadvantage of serving-mounted peep sights is that, regardless of how well the serving may be tied, the act of pulling the bowstring back to full draw tends to cause the peep sight to move upwardly along the bowstring. As a consequence, the peep sight does not retain its desired position and the archer's shooting accuracy is correspondingly compromised.
Clamping means have been proposed as an alternative to serving for securing peep sights to bowstrings. Examples include the two-part peep sights disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,656,747 and 5,680,480. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,747 the peep sight is clamped between separated strands of a bowstring and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,480 the bowstring remains unseparated but is clamped between a pair of peep sight sections. If installed properly, such devices should be able to fix the peep sight at a desired position on the bowstring. In the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,747, the bowstring strands are exposed to the ambient environment and, therefore, to moisture, debris or other undesirable matter that might hinder operation of the sight or deteriorate the bowstring at the sight location. In the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,480, the bowstring is clamped within the sight housing. However, the bowstring is essentially permanently clamped within the sight by interlocking projections and recesses provided on the first and second housing sections of the sight. A pin or screw secures the sections together and retains the sight at a desired position along the bowstring. A disadvantage of such a sight is that, because of the mechanical interlock between the housing sections, the sections must be pried apart to remove the sight from the bowstring which may result in damage to either or both of the housing sections.
An advantage exists, therefore, for an archery peep sight which fully encloses and firmly clamps the strands of bowstring. Such sight should be of minimum size and weight, should have high strength and durability, and should be easily and non-destructively attached to and removed from a bowstring.